From: Nicky Hamlyn (email suppressed)
Date: Thu Jan 24 2008 - 13:57:10 PST
Dear Bernie,
Yes, my essay is on site specific films. I also wrote a book called Film Art
Phenomena (BFI, 2003) and chapters in various other books, one on Brakhage,
and a new one on Peter Kubelka's film Arnulf Rainer, in a book called "Avant
Garde Film" (Rodopi press).
You're right about Jackie's book, and that's because it was conceived as a
book for artists to write about their own work, or work they liked, a mix of
both actually.
I don't see anything wrong with canons, as long as they're not set in stone
or considered immune to criticism. Everyone "canonises" from rock fans to
literary scholars. Then things get reevaluated. That's healthy.
I like structural film, it's what I grew up with, and it's still a lot
better than much of the weedy stuff one sees in galleries these days.
Sadly Jackie Hatfield died recently. She was an energetic and dynamic
presence in London and Dundee! Where are you based?
Best wishes,
Nicky. Obviosly what annoyed me about that book title, which Kleinhans
seemed obtusely not to get, was that fact that its title should have
reflected the geographical/national boundaries of its scope. There are women
filmmakers in other parts of ther World!
Bernard Roddy writes:
> Nicky Hamlyn, I just saw a copy of your book (assuming
> there's only one) and an essay of yours in a
> collection edited by Jackie Hatfield, Experimental
> Film and Video. The latter includes a much wider
> range of work. For example, Cate Elwes has an essay
> in there and there is substantial inclusion of work
> that was not particularly technology-based but seemed
> more engaged in performance or the personal, as
> opposed to experimentation with a medium (or working
> in a studio/gallery). This engagement with
> structuralist film (which I thought I saw in looking
> through your book) is, for me, like talking about the
> opposition to commercial film - rather tiresome (not
> to discredit that work!) There's also an opening
> essay in which someone (also a veteran . . are they
> all veterans?) discusses a "death of the avant-garde"
> essay by Fred Camper. I found this oddly satisfying,
> I mean the response to Camper (who, I admit, I have
> not read - and do not mean to discredit). Like Ahwesh
> as presented by the Wees essay in the Blaetz text,
> there's a refreshing disrespect (there must be a
> better word) for a canon. I think Blaetz also hints
> at a certain impatience in her introduction. But the
> Hatfield also gives substantial space to the artists
> themselves - a wide range of them - to frame their own
> work, which really seems to open up the possibilities
> in terms of how film and video is understood,
> particularly if those artists are not participating in
> the same traditions. I'd say that geographical
> location is one guide for expanding these terms, but
> no guarantee. Bla, bla, bla.
>
> Bernie
>
> --- Nicky Hamlyn <email suppressed>
> wrote:
>
>> OK, so strictly I was not quite right, but that
>> wasn't exactly my point,
>>
>> Nicky Hamlyn.
>>
>> Chuck Kleinhans writes:
>>
>> > The late Joyce Weiland was a Canadian. I don't
>> know the precise
>> > citizenship of Gunvor Nelson, but it wouldn't be
>> surprising to find she
>> > was a dual national (Sweden/US).
>> >
>> > CHUCK KLEINHANS
>> >
>> >
>> > On Jan 23, 2008, at 2:55 PM, Nicky Hamlyn wrote:
>> >
>> >> Haven't seen this book, so can't comment on it,
>> but shouldn't the title
>> >> be "AMERICAN Women's Experimental Cinema:
>> Critical Frameworks", since,
>> >> as far as I can see, no other nationalities are
>> mentioned?
>> >>
>> >> Nicky Hamlyn.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> On 23 Jan 2008, at 19:58, Bernard Roddy wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> The essay by William Wees in the collection
>> edited by
>> >>> Robin Blaetz
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
> __________________________________________________________________
>> > For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
>> <email suppressed>.
>>
>>
>>
>>
> __________________________________________________________________
>> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
>> <email suppressed>.
>>
>
>
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
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>
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.